His head coach in high school, Manatee's Joe Kinnan, with whom Taggart won a state title, said it's his former quarterback's genuineness that serves as a magnet for those who meet him.

“A lot of times,” Kinnan said, “you're talking to guys who are big-time people and you can just tell they're not focused on what you're saying.

“They're looking past you or through you at something else, and he's not that way. A humble and hard-working young man. He's right now at the top of the NCAA football world.”

Success put Taggart there, but hard work was the vehicle. Growing up in Bradenton, he toiled in the Palmetto orange groves to help his parents with food and rent money.

As a player at Western Kentucky, he completed 76 credit hours in two years, working for two summers, 13 hours a day, in a factory.

“He didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth,” said Ray Woodie, the former head coach at Bayshore and Palmetto highs, who will be Taggart's linebackers coach with the Bulls.

“He was always that blue-collar type of guy.”

The hard work started almost immediately after Taggart was hired on Dec. 8, secure with a contract that will pay him $1.5 million a year for the next five years. That happened on a Saturday.

The next day, Taggart hit the road for a week of recruiting. He attended the state high school championship football games, hosted a recruit at USF, then flew to Kentucky to bring back his wife, Taneshia, and the couple's two children, Willie Jr., and J.T.

Willie said Taneshia will handle the search for a home and school for the kids. Again, time. He also plans to re-evaluate the players already on the roster with those who have committed or shown a strong interest.

“It's important that we get the right guy, the right fit, for what we're trying to do,” Taggart said. “I'm looking forward to implementing our system and seeing which guys are going to buy in and which ones won't.”

Jeremy Sharpe wonders if any recruit exists who wouldn't buy into Taggart's message.

“What I noticed is the way people gravitate toward him,” said USF's assistant athletic director for communications. “His attitude and the energy that he comes with is infectious.

“You can tell, he seems to have an innate ability to get people excited and to get people invigorated.”

In college football, it's all about recruiting. All about a head coach walking into the home of a prized recruit, his parents sitting nearby, and convincing both that his school and program are the place to be.

Great players make a great coach. There's no way around it.

At USF, Taggart will have as selling points Florida's weather and the school's fine facilities, as well as an administration hungry for a winner.

At Western Kentucky, Taggart managed to convince 33 Florida players to leave the state and play for him. In concert, they turned around a Hilltopper program which had lost 20 straight games.

Taggart's deft recruiting touch paid off the day he was hired with the commitment of 6-foot-5 quarterback Mike White, who led Fort Lauderdale High to the Class 3A state title.

Back in Manatee County, Kinnan said Hurricane defensive tackle Derrick Calloway wasn't planning to visit South Florida, but that the hiring of Taggart changed his mind. The 310-pounder, an All-State selection as a junior, will visit Jan. 11.

“And I'd say they got a legitimate shot at getting him,” Kinnan said. “All of a sudden, the dynamic has changed.”

“He's going to be honest and respectful and he's not going to fabricate to these guys,” Woodie said. “He's going to do his homework. He has an idea on who he wants and what he wants.

“I've been in there with him several times. It's something that I know. They're going to feel his positive energy. He's not a used-car salesman. What you see is what you get with coach Taggart.”

Taggart and his coaches head out Jan. 4 for more recruiting before the Jan. 7 start of classes and workouts. He especially wants to mine the I-4 corridor between Tampa and Daytona Beach.

“I look at that as our ‘in-state,' ” he said. “We've got to recruit our tails off in our in-state. We're just too close to not recruit our tails off and get some of these kids to stay here and play for us.”

Sitting in his leather chair, the first black head football coach in the history of Western Kentucky, and now, the first black head football coach in the history of South Florida, Taggart reflects on his good fortune.

He was perfectly comfortable coaching at his alma mater. And then the opportunity presented itself. The opportunity to return home.

The opportunity to continue what he's always done. Win football games. Positively influence the lives of young men.

“It just came up,” he said. “I'm one of those guys who always has a five-year plan. After five years I reset my goals for what I want to do and then execute that plan to get there. It's been helping me this far, no matter where it's taken me.

“I knew I wanted to be a coordinator. I knew I wanted to be a head coach. I wanted to be one of the best head coaches out there.

“I said I wouldn't leave Western Kentucky unless I had a chance to win a national championship, and I believe we can do it here.”

<p><em>TAMPA</em> - Except for a framed photo hung on a side wall and a couple of South Florida helmets, the office inside the Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center is barren, conveying a just-moved-in feel.</p><p>Its occupant sits comfortably in a leather chair behind a large desk. Willie Taggart is asked when he might find time to decorate.</p><p>Time?</p><p>“There are so many more important things that we need to get done than to decorate this office,” said the USF head football coach.</p><p>First and foremost, build a program.</p><p>From whatever source, the words used to describe 36-year-old Willie Taggart rarely stray beyond the glowing — committed, focused, genial, dogged, honest, caring.</p><p>His head coach in high school, Manatee's Joe Kinnan, with whom Taggart won a state title, said it's his former quarterback's genuineness that serves as a magnet for those who meet him.</p><p>“A lot of times,” Kinnan said, “you're talking to guys who are big-time people and you can just tell they're not focused on what you're saying.</p><p>“They're looking past you or through you at something else, and he's not that way. A humble and hard-working young man. He's right now at the top of the NCAA football world.”</p><p>Success put Taggart there, but hard work was the vehicle. Growing up in Bradenton, he toiled in the Palmetto orange groves to help his parents with food and rent money.</p><p>As a player at Western Kentucky, he completed 76 credit hours in two years, working for two summers, 13 hours a day, in a factory.</p><p>“He didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth,” said Ray Woodie, the former head coach at Bayshore and Palmetto highs, who will be Taggart's linebackers coach with the Bulls.</p><p>“He was always that blue-collar type of guy.”</p><p>The hard work started almost immediately after Taggart was hired on Dec. 8, secure with a contract that will pay him $1.5 million a year for the next five years. That happened on a Saturday.</p><p>The next day, Taggart hit the road for a week of recruiting. He attended the state high school championship football games, hosted a recruit at USF, then flew to Kentucky to bring back his wife, Taneshia, and the couple's two children, Willie Jr., and J.T.</p><p>Willie said Taneshia will handle the search for a home and school for the kids. Again, time. He also plans to re-evaluate the players already on the roster with those who have committed or shown a strong interest.</p><p>“It's important that we get the right guy, the right fit, for what we're trying to do,” Taggart said. “I'm looking forward to implementing our system and seeing which guys are going to buy in and which ones won't.”</p><p>Jeremy Sharpe wonders if any recruit exists who wouldn't buy into Taggart's message.</p><p>“What I noticed is the way people gravitate toward him,” said USF's assistant athletic director for communications. “His attitude and the energy that he comes with is infectious.</p><p>“You can tell, he seems to have an innate ability to get people excited and to get people invigorated.”</p><p>In college football, it's all about recruiting. All about a head coach walking into the home of a prized recruit, his parents sitting nearby, and convincing both that his school and program are the place to be.</p><p>Great players make a great coach. There's no way around it.</p><p>At USF, Taggart will have as selling points Florida's weather and the school's fine facilities, as well as an administration hungry for a winner.</p><p>At Western Kentucky, Taggart managed to convince 33 Florida players to leave the state and play for him. In concert, they turned around a Hilltopper program which had lost 20 straight games.</p><p>Taggart's deft recruiting touch paid off the day he was hired with the commitment of 6-foot-5 quarterback Mike White, who led Fort Lauderdale High to the Class 3A state title.</p><p>Back in Manatee County, Kinnan said Hurricane defensive tackle Derrick Calloway wasn't planning to visit South Florida, but that the hiring of Taggart changed his mind. The 310-pounder, an All-State selection as a junior, will visit Jan. 11.</p><p>“And I'd say they got a legitimate shot at getting him,” Kinnan said. “All of a sudden, the dynamic has changed.”</p><p>“He's going to be honest and respectful and he's not going to fabricate to these guys,” Woodie said. “He's going to do his homework. He has an idea on who he wants and what he wants.</p><p>“I've been in there with him several times. It's something that I know. They're going to feel his positive energy. He's not a used-car salesman. What you see is what you get with coach Taggart.”</p><p>Taggart and his coaches head out Jan. 4 for more recruiting before the Jan. 7 start of classes and workouts. He especially wants to mine the I-4 corridor between Tampa and Daytona Beach.</p><p>“I look at that as our 'in-state,' ” he said. “We've got to recruit our tails off in our in-state. We're just too close to not recruit our tails off and get some of these kids to stay here and play for us.”</p><p>Sitting in his leather chair, the first black head football coach in the history of Western Kentucky, and now, the first black head football coach in the history of South Florida, Taggart reflects on his good fortune.</p><p>He was perfectly comfortable coaching at his alma mater. And then the opportunity presented itself. The opportunity to return home.</p><p>The opportunity to continue what he's always done. Win football games. Positively influence the lives of young men.</p><p>“It just came up,” he said. “I'm one of those guys who always has a five-year plan. After five years I reset my goals for what I want to do and then execute that plan to get there. It's been helping me this far, no matter where it's taken me.</p><p>“I knew I wanted to be a coordinator. I knew I wanted to be a head coach. I wanted to be one of the best head coaches out there.</p><p>“I said I wouldn't leave Western Kentucky unless I had a chance to win a national championship, and I believe we can do it here.”</p>